Setting the Record Straight on Hezbollah Terrorist Leader Hassan ...

On September 27, the Israel Defense Forces launched a massive airstrike targeting Hezbollah’s headquarters in Lebanon. Senior Hezbollah officials, including Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, were killed in the attack. The death of Nasrallah marks a significant blow to Hezbollah, which has already lost almost all of its top leadership to counterterrorism operations conducted by Israeli forces in recent weeks. Since October 8, Hezbollah has escalated its attacks on Israel, launching barrages of rockets, drones, and mortar shells on a near-daily basis – more than 10,000 to date.

Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah since 1992, was also one of the group's founders and a key figure in transforming the Iranian-backed group into a formidable military force and ideological powerhouse. His leadership forged ever-deeper ties with Iran, advancing its regional ambitions and the goal of destroying Israel. Nasrallah oversaw Hezbollah’s involvement in terror attacks globally, including the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, attacks against Jews, Israelis, and others in Europe, Thailand, and India, and initiated the 2006 Second Lebanon War after capturing Israeli soldiers. Under his command, Hezbollah stockpiled over 150,000 rockets, missiles, and drones, posing a significant threat to Israel’s security.

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Here is what to know about the late Hezbollah leader, who oversaw a major terrorist group for more than three decades.

Who was Hassan Nasrallah?

Hassan Nasrallah was born to a Shia family on August 31, 1960, in the Bourj Hammoud neighborhood of East Beirut, Lebanon. He later moved to the southern village of Al-Bazouriya, near Tyre, during the Lebanese Civil War. Nasrallah showed a keen interest in religious studies from a young age and joined the Amal Movement in his youth, a secular militia primarily representing Lebanon’s Shia community.

In the late 1970s, Nasrallah moved to the Iraqi city of Najaf, a center of Shia scholarship, to study under prominent Shia clerics. There, he met Abbas al-Musawi, who became his mentor and significantly shaped his views. Nasrallah would later replace Musawi as the head of Hezbollah following Israel's assassination of the terror leader. 

Nasrallah was heavily influenced by the teachings of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which advocated for the establishment of Islamic governments and the fight against Western influence, particularly in the Middle East.

What was Nasrallah’s role in Hezbollah? 

Nasrallah was one of the early founders of Hezbollah. After Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, Nasrallah, along with several other members of Amal, defected to form Hezbollah (the “Party of God”). They were dissatisfied with Amal's moderate stance and sought to create a more radical Islamist resistance movement aimed at expelling Israeli forces from Lebanon. Hezbollah was closely aligned with Iran, receiving funding, training, and ideological guidance from the Iranian government.

During his rise to power, Hezbollah was behind several major terror attacks targeting the U.S., including the suicide truck bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983, and the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984, as well as the hijacking of TWA 847 in 1985. The U.S. designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

Nasrallah quickly climbed the ranks of Hezbollah due to his strategic mind, charismatic leadership, and commitment to the group’s goals. In 1992, after Israel assassinated Abbas al-Musawi, Nasrallah became Hezbollah’s Secretary-General. Under his leadership, Hezbollah transformed from a militia into a political party with significant military power while maintaining its extremist ideology.

What was Nasrallah’s relationship with Iran? 

Hassan Nasrallah’s relationship with Iran was deeply rooted in shared ideological beliefs, particularly the concept of Wilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist), which places Iran’s Supreme Leader, or Ayatollah, as the ultimate religious and political authority. 

Nasrallah, influenced by Ayatollah Khomeini’s vision, viewed Iran as a critical ally in Hezbollah's mission to destroy Israel and fight against Western values in the Middle East. Since Hezbollah’s founding in 1982 with the support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran has provided Hezbollah with financial backing, military training, and advanced weaponry, solidifying its status as a critical proxy for Tehran.

Nasrallah’s Hezbollah aligns with Iran's broader strategic goals, known as the “Axis of Resistance,” serving as a significant force in Iran’s efforts to exert influence across the region, from Yemen and Iraq to Lebanon and the West Bank and Gaza Strip against Israel. 

His loyalty to Iran’s current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has guided Hezbollah’s policies and actions, from military operations to political decisions. In exchange for this loyalty, Hezbollah receives critical resources from Iran, making Nasrallah's leadership and Hezbollah’s power heavily dependent on Tehran's support.